This invention relates to a process for the continuous dyeing of textiles. More particularly, the invention includes a process for the rapid, continuous dyeing of synthetic polyamide and wool fabrics in open width using selected, water-soluble commercial anionic dyes and a high-boiling, nonionic organic solvent medium to provide the energy for rapid dye diffusion into the fibers.
There is a class of waterless dye compositions used to dye textiles and other solid polymeric articles in which a dyestuff is dissolved or dispersed in a high-boiling, nonionic organic medium. The article to be dyed is immersed in or otherwise contacted with the dyeing composition and the article is colored while the dye composition is maintained at elevated temperature. Of the commercially-available range of dyestuffs, very few are soluble or even suitable for use in connection with high-boiling, nonionic organic media. In practice, the use of such media is limited to crude disperse and solvent dyes. As a practical matter, ionic dyes, such as acid, cationic and fiber-reactive dyes, those dyes traditionally applied to a textile via an aqueous medium, cannot be successfully used to dye nylon, wool or cellulosic fabrics in high-boiling, nonionic organic media, because ionic dyes are insoluble in such media.
Another well-known and documented type of dyeing procedure is that of thermosoling. In this dyeing procedure, an aqueous dyestuff solution is applied to the textile, the amount of moisture or wet pick-up is adjusted and the impregnated textile is then subjected to or dry heat in order to fix the dye to the textile fibers; this is often referred to in the art as thermosoling. In this manner, the dye is diffused into the fiber by the dry heat. The dye can also be fixed by steaming.